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BURMA RELATED NEWS - September
16, 2001.
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HEADLINES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP - Myanmar opposition vows to push for
democratic parliament
AFP - India will set up new strategic
tri-service command off eastern coast
Reuters - World changed forever after U.S.
attacks, Singapore says
Reuters - ASEAN, Australia, NZ agree to move
ahead on trade
BBC - Burmese forced labour in the
spotlight
Kyodo News - Myanmar's
NLD marks 3rd anniversary of 'people's parliament'
Bkk Post - Bank urged
to push for long-delayed border plans
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Leader On Sectoral
Achievements Made in 13 Years
Xinhuanet - Myanmar's Rice Export Up Sharply in
First Half of 2001
ST - Asean hears call to press on with
reforms
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday September 16, 6:52 PM
Myanmar opposition vows to push for democratic parliament YANGON, Sept 16 (AFP) - Leaders
of Myanmar's democratic opposition, which was denied power a decade ago after
winning a landslide election victory, Sunday vowed to continue pushing for a new
parliament to be convened.
The declaration was made at a discreet ceremony held at the headquarters of
Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), marking the third
anniversary of the founding of a body to press the junta over the issue.
The Committee Representing the Peoples Parliament (CRPP) was created when
calls for parliament to be established fell on deaf ears within the ruling
military regime.
NLD vice chairman Tin Oo said the CRPP had been given a mandate from the
majority of elected NLD MPs as well as ethnic-based pro-democracy parties to
represent them in the absence of a parliament.
"We shall continue to work until parliament is convened according to the
wishes of the people," he said in a message read on behalf of CRPP chairman Aung
Shwe who was unable to attend the gathering due to ill health.
Aung Shwe's message also said that over the past three years, better
understanding and goodwill had been forged between the NLD and the other
pro-democracy parties.
"Now that the political climate has improved, we will be able to work in a
better environment to achieve our goal," he told some 200 people, including
representatives of five ethnic parties, who attended the one-hour ceremony at
NLD headquarters in downtown Yangon.
Aung Shwe and Tin Oo were both released from house arrest late last month,
as some of nearly 200 opposition figures freed since Aung San Suu Kyi began
landmark talks with the ruling generals last October.
The junta has been upbeat about the progress of the secret talks, but
observers say it has failed to proceed past the initial "confidence-building"
stage designed to build up trust between the sworn enemies.
And they caution that any transition to democracy in Myanmar, which has
been under military rule for four decades, will be a year-long process involving
fresh elections and the drafting of a new constitution.
Western governments maintain a position of "cautious optimism", saying they
want to see concrete results before they considering lifting the heavy sanctions
load against Myanmar.
However, the NLD and other opposition parties have welcomed signs of a
political thaw in Myanmar, particularly after the junta began releasing
dissidents and allowed NLD branch offices around the country to reopen.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday September 15, 11:51 PM
India will set up new strategic tri-service command off eastern coast NEW DELHI, Sept 15 (AFP) -
India on Saturday said it would set up an unprecedented three-service strategic
command in its Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal.
Foreign and Defence Minister Jaswant Singh said the integrated defence
staff and Andaman and Nicobar command was the first of its kind in the country's
history.
The command would introduce for the first time, joint planning, joint
formulations and also, where possible, joint training of army, navy and air
force staff, Singh said.
The Andaman and Nicobar islands, which lie 1,190 kilometres (738 miles)
east of the southern city of Madras, were the site of naval skirmishes between
India, the Dutch and the Portuguese in the 18th century and later between the
British and Japanese.
Last year the military called for a strategic command there, arguing that
such a facility would counter Chinese monitoring centres in Myanmar.
The new command, which would comprise the army, navy, air force and the
coast guard, will initially have a naval commander-in-chief appointed by the
cabinet.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday September 15, 9:18 PM
World changed forever after U.S. attacks, Singapore says By David Brunnstrom HANOI (Reuters) - Singapore
warned Southeast Asian partners on Saturday that the terror attacks on the
United States had changed the world forever and called for a galvanising of
energies to prepare for an uncertain future.
"The world has changed, there is no going back to the past," Singapore's
Trade Minister George Yeo told a joint news conference after a meeting of
Association of South East Asian Nations trade ministers in Hanoi.
"The U.S. has rightly described the terrorist attacks as an act of war," he
said. "That means there will be consequences and ramifications, there will
actions, there will be reactions� and further to these terrible events, new
uncertainties will evolve.
"We have to we have to accept that all assumptions have changed -- we have
a different future -- and prepare ourselves for that different future."
Yeo said the attacks in Washington and New York had added urgency to
discussions among ASEAN ministers after meetings with European and Asian in the
past week and added to a resolve to address fundamental problems.
"Our best strategy," Yeo said, "is to galvanise the countries of ASEAN and
together see what we can do� to make sure whatever happens we are competitive,
we are attractive to investors all over the world."
Addressing the meeting earlier, Vietnam's Prime Minister Phan Van Khai said
ASEAN must continue economic reforms in the face of the global economic slowdown
and declining investment flows.
He said the bloc needed to actively boost its ties with the United States,
Europe and other regions as well as cooperation among member states.
Khai said ASEAN countries "should not be prematurely satisfied" despite
pulling themselves from the economic crisis that hit the region in 1997.
A global economic slowdown had adversely affected ASEAN economies and it
faced fierce competition in attracting investment, he said.
On Friday, the ASEAN ministers agreed to speed up the removal of investment
barriers, saying the global slowdown, ever increasing competition from China,
and worries about the fallout from the attacks in the United States had made
this more urgent.
Ministers from Japan and ASEAN who met in Hanoi earlier in the week agreed
to study ways to build a closer economic partnership given China's impending
entry into the World Trade Organisation and increasing diversion of investment
into that country.
On Friday, ASEAN agreed that tariff preferences would be extended to newer
members of the bloc Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar, from next year as a
move towards greater integration.
The six other ASEAN members are Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Brunei and Indonesia.
The ministers will wrap up a week of meetings on Sunday with talks with
Australia and New Zealand on market access and ways to create closer economic
ties.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday September 16, 2:05 PM
ASEAN, Australia, NZ agree to move ahead on trade By David Brunnstrom HANOI, Sept 16 (Reuters) -
ASEAN trade ministers agreed with Australia and New Zealand on Sunday to move
ahead with a Closer Economic Partnership initiative in the face of global
economic slowdown and uncertainty after the attacks on the United States.
The twelve countries said after meeting in Hanoi they had had adopted a
framwework agreement on the partnership proposed in 2000 which would be
formalised at a meeting next year in Brunei.
The initiative aims to reduce trade barriers and promote freer investment
between the regions. A joint statement said initial emphasis would be on
removing non-tariff barriers.
On Wednesday, ASEAN -- Association of South East Asian Nations -- agreed to
study ways to build a closer economic partnership with Japan given China's
impending World Trade Organisation entry and increasing diversion of investment
to that country.
Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile said the terror attacks in the United
States and the current economic downturn heightened the need for closer economic
cooperation and trade reform.
"It all indicates that we need to be focused on individual reform
agendas...(and) look at ways to strengthen our regional network and regional
ties," he told the meeting.
"We need not just to maintain, but actively promote economic growth and
development through our policy...continuing regional economic integration can
certainly assist in that regard."
OPPORTUNE TIME
"Given the current economic circumstances globally this is a very opportune
time to be strengthening the relationship between our countries," he told a
later news conference.
ASEAN trade ministers first agreed to study a Closer Economic Partnership
with Australia and New Zealand last year having backed away from a proposed
united free trade area.
Since then Australia has discussed bilateral trade agreements with both
Singapore and Thailand. Australia has said it hopes to sign such an agreement
with Singapore in November.
At the news conference, Vaile rejected a suggestion that Australia's recent
refusal to accept hundreds of Afghan refugees may have hurt its push for closer
economic ties with Asia. He said the issue had not be raised at the meeting.
"My colleagues around the table understand we have 800,000 Asian-speaking
Australians in our region and our relationship with our region is very genuine
and very strong," he said.
Sunday's gathering ended more than a week of meetings in which ASEAN trade
and economy ministers have also held discussions with counterparts from Europe
and East Asia.
On Friday, the ASEAN ministers agreed to speed removal of investment
barriers, saying the global slowdown, ever-increasing competition from China,
and worries about fallout from the attacks in the United States had made this
more urgent.
Singapore's Trade Minister George Yeo said on Saturday the world had been
irrevocably changed by the attacks and ASEAN countries had to galvanise their
energies to make their region more attractive to investors.
ASEAN groups Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei,
Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Sunday, 16 September, 2001,
11:51 GMT 12:51 UK
Burmese forced labour in the spotlight By regional analyst Larry Jagan in Bangkok A high-level ILO delegation is due to arrive in Burma for a three-week
investigative mission into the use of forced labour.
It has taken months of negotiations between the ILO's Director-General,
Juan Somavia, and the country's military leaders.
It is the first chance the international community has had to examine the
situation of forced labour in Burma first-hand. Privately ILO officials are
convinced that this is the first step in an on-going process of monitoring
Burma¿s respect for labour rights.
The Burmese Government says its supports the mission and will co-operate
fully with it.
The mission will report back to the ILO in November at its major annual
session, a year after the organisation stepped up the pressure on Burma by
demanding that its members review their policy towards Burma and consider
implementing what analysts saw as an international economic boycott.
The Burmese Government hopes that the findings will be in its favour.
Impressive team
Members of the mission will not be hoodwinked by the military authorities,
says the Mr Somavia.
They are very experienced and used to dealing with repressive regimes. The
quality of the four members of the mission, he says will guarantee its success.
"They know their business, they know what to look at and they know what to
ask," Juan Somavia told the BBC.
The calibre of the team is in fact very impressive:
Sir Ninian Stephen, is a former governor-general and chief justice of
Australia, and chairman of a UN expert group on Cambodia.
Ms Nieves Roldan-Confessor is a former Philippines Secretary of Labour and
Employment in the Philippines and advisor to the ILO's governing body,
Kutatilaka Asrthanayake Parinda Ranasinghe is a former Chief Justice of Sri
Lanka
Jerzy Makarczyk is the chief of the European court of human rights and a
former deputy foreign minister of Poland.
Sources at the ILO told the BBC that the composition of the mission was chosen very carefully to avoid any representatives from the US or Europe being included. Free access
The ILO says there was an agreement with the Burmese generals that the
mission would be allowed to go anywhere.
In fact, officials of the ILO says the Burmese Government hasn't been told
most of the destinations that the team wants to visit in the next three weeks,
and they will only be told later.
"Some destinations haven't been chosen yet," an ILO official said. "And
many of these will depend on the testimony and research gathered by the mission
while they are in the country."
In the past few weeks, Burma¿s military commanders have been touring the
areas that might be on the mission¿s itinerary telling villagers what to say.
In some areas, especially in Mon state, the local military commanders have
been making villagers sign petitions saying there is no forced labour in their
area.
This is not the sort of evidence that will give great credibility by the
visiting judges. They will want to talk to villagers in private.
Protection offer
Anyone who wants protection will have it, says Mr Somavia. "This was part
of our understanding with the Burmese authorities," he told the BBC.
"One always has to be extremely careful in these situations of what happens
to those who do want to meet with the mission and stay there," he said.
Juan Somavia is convinced of two things: that dialogue is the most
effective way to bring change to authoritarian regimes - he says he has the
experience Chile to support his approach; and secondly, he says his main purpose
is to lessen the use of forced labour in any country and in the end wants to
eradicate it all together.
This will still take some doing in Burma. Human rights groups like
AsiaWatch say that forced labour is still used extensively, particularly in
border areas where the army uses them for porters. Burma¿s generals insist that
only voluntary labour is used for portering and government infrastructural
projects.
In Mon state, members of the New Mon State Party say that although it
wasn't as bad as it used to be, forced labour is still a major problem in the
area, despite the ceasefire agreement signed with Burmese military government.
The ILO says this mission is part of an on-going process. In private,
senior officials admit that establishing a permanent presence in Rangoon is the
only way to ensure the elimination of forced labour and prosecution and
punishment of those found to be using force labour.
"The ILO, " says Mr Somavia ¿won't be satisfied with something that doesn't
appear to be real progress. It is progress for a mission to be there, but
progress has to continue.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar's NLD marks 3rd anniversary of
'people's parliament'
YANGON, Sept. 16, Kyodo -
Myanmar's main pro-democracy movement, the National League for Democracy (NLD)
led by Aung San Suu Kyi, held its third anniversary Sunday of its ''people's
parliament'' at a working lunch at the party's headquarters.
The NLD formed a 10-member panel known as the Committee Representing the
People's Parliament on Sept. 16, 1998, to function as the parliament.
Myanmar's junta refused to convene the legislature after the 1990 general
elections, in which the NLP won more than 80% of seats.
At the lunch meeting, NLD Chairman Aung Shwe, in a speech read by NLD Vice
Chairman Tin Oo, said, ''Cooperation of the people's parliament...is necessary
to shape the future of the country.''
The speech, devoid of the usual reproachful remarks on the junta, noted
only that the people's parliament will exist as long as is necessary.
Asked by reporters on the progress of dialogue between the junta and Suu
Kyi, Tin Oo said, ''It is still at the confidence-building stage, it is not the
dialogue yet.''
The lunch meeting was attended by more than 200 party adherents and ethnic
group representatives.
The second anniversary meeting last year resolved to draft the state
constitution under supervision of Aung Shwe and Suu Kyi.
Drafting of the constitution by anyone but the official National Convention
is illegal under a 1996 law.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Sep 16,
2001.
Bank urged to push for long-delayed
border plans
Projects would fix illegal labour hassle
Supamart Kasem
Local administrative bodies called on the Asia Development Bank to push for
long-delayed border development projects which might solve the problem of
illegal Burmese labourers.
The call was made during a visit early last week in Mae Sot of an ADB
delegation and people from the National Economic and Social Development
Board.
ADB's Graham Jackson and Koichi Tamaki met people from the local
administrative organisations, trade, tourism and industry sectors to discuss
support for economic development in the area.
Therdkiat Chinsoranant, Mae Sot mayor, said projects along the Burmese
border were part of a strategic development plan for the North and a plan to
link Thailand with Vietnam, Laos and Burma.
Included was development of the Mae Sot-Myawaddy-Kawkareik-Pa-an-Rangoon
route, which is about 420 kilometres long.
It takes at least 15 hours to travel the single-lane, 3m-wide route.
Also proposed is development of Mae Sot as a twin town of Burma's
Myawaddy.
``However, there is not much progress.
``The plan is stuck with the Industry Ministry. So the ADB should push the
project,'' he said.
Mr Therdkiat said people on both sides of the border would benefit from the
schemes, should they get the green light.
Currently, about 50,000 Burmese nationals live secretly in municipal areas
and exploit resources at the expense of local authorities.
``If the projects were under way, a large number of jobs would be
created.
``It would encourage Burmese people to stay in their own country,'' he
said.
Suchart Triratwattana, vice-president of Tak's Chamber of Commerce, said
the private sector would transfer investments to Burma if the schemes
materialised.
The investments would create tens of thousands of jobs for the Burmese,
which would help solve illegal labour problems, he said.
Mr Jackson backed the schemes, but said it was up to the Thai government to
make a move.
He said there were certain problems in Burma which limited the ADB's
support, such as human rights violations and narcotics problems.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar Leader On Sectoral
Achievements Made in 13 Years
Xinhuanet 2001.09.16 12:29:22 YANGON, September 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Myanmar has made some
achievements in the sectors of education and irrigation in 13 years since
the present government took over the power of state in late 1988, official
newspaper The New Light of Myanmar Sunday quoted the country's top leader
Senior-General Than Shwe as saying.
The government views education as a very important investment for the
nation's human resources development and has laid down a 30-year plan
which is being implemented, noted Than Shwe at an annual general meeting
of the Union Solidarity Development Association (USDA) held here.
Than Shwe is Chairman of the Myanmar State Peace and Development
Council and the patron of the USDA.
He told the meeting that there are 39,070 basic education schools in
the country now, increasing by 5,323 from 1988 when there were
33,747.
Meanwhile, there are 129 universities and colleges now, up from 1988 when
there were only 32.
With regard to the achievements made in the irrigation sector, he
said during the 13-year period, Myanmar built 124 dams and reservoirs,
bringing the total irrigated areas to 1.98 million hectares now from 1.02
million hectares in 1988.
He called for efforts to build the nation into a modern one by
turning the agro-based nation into an industrialized and developed one.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar's Rice Export Up Sharply
in First Half of 2001
Xinhuanet 2001.09.16 12:30:56 YANGON, September 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Myanmar exported a total of
215,100 tons of rice in the first half of this year, earning a foreign
exchange of 24.87 million U.S. dollars, the country's Central Statistical
Organization said in its latest data.
The export volume and foreign exchange earning were respectively up
568 percent and 365.7 percent compared with the same period of 2000.
Although Myanmar's rice export had dropped from 111,700 tons in 1998 to
63,700 tons in 1999, it rose to 141,600 tons in 2000.
To meet its food demand and to export more rice, Myanmar has since
November 1998 leased out 467,370 hectares of vacant, virgin, fallow and wetlands
in the country for cultivation by private entrepreneurs.
At the same time, it has also exempted the import customs duties
levied on agricultural implements including pesticide, fertilizer,
improved variety and machinery.
Myanmar's cultivable land stretches 18.225 million hectares, of which
10.125 million have been put under crops, while 8.1 million remain to be
utilized.
The country's agriculture accounts for 37 percent of the gross
domestic product and 25 percent of the export value.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Straits Times - Sep 16,
2001.
ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN Asean hears call to press on with reforms HANOI - The worsening global slowdown means South-east Asia cannot afford
to be complacent in its efforts to win back lost investment, Vietnamese Prime
Minister Phan Van Khai told regional economic ministers yesterday as they
launched annual talks here.
The region had made headway in recovering from the financial crisis of 1997
to achieve a growth rate of 5.3 per cent last year, but now it faced the fresh
challenge of a major drop in demand from all its key trading partners, he said.
'The global economic slowdown - especially in the US, Japan and the EU -
has adversely affected our economies. Further aggravated by fierce international
competition, the investment flow into the Asean nations has been declining,' he
said.
'We should therefore not be prematurely satisfied. Instead, we should
continue to reinforce economic reforms and development in each member, as well
as support and promote regional economic growth through intensifying Asean
economic cooperation.'
Mr Khai singled out the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) and the Asean
Investment Area (AIA), which the grouping plans to establish over the next
decade, as top priorities.
In talks on Friday, ministers agreed to bring forward the deadline for
AIA's creation from 2020 to 2010 for the region's six wealthier countries and to
2015 for the other four. Afta is to be launched in 2003 by the core six with
later deadlines for Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.--AFP
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